Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-02-21
THE BIG MOUND
MAR THE STATE PENITRNTIARY WRITTEN
UP BY w. A. T."
Dssth of a Noted MNnShiner-A Woman Mur-
dered-To-NightS Big Ball
Beautiful Scenery.

ten ND the Moundsyilie tumulus, from
data obtained during the penitentiary in
~yestigation. After describing the size,
shane and location ofthe morad, he says:
sin the year 1863 Joseph Tomlinson
secured a royal patent for a large portion
of the Flats, and shortly afterward removed
there with his family. 1t was he who first
discovered the mound, while on a hunting
expedition. = \ = In 1888 Abelard
Tomlinson, a grandson OF the patentee,
concluded to explore the mound and turn
il to some pecuniary account. Accordingly
a gentleman named Catlett, who still lives
in the city, cut away eleven feet of the
summit and sank 4 shaft eleven feet in
diameter down the center TO the level of
the base, and then ran a tunnel on the
level, so as to interSect the shaft. The
tnnnel was arched and the shaft bricked
ND, no less than one hundred thousand
brick being required. In sinking the shaft,
at a distance of thirty-fve feet from
the p of the cone, Catlett
came upon 4 rough stone crypt containing
a. female skeleton, covered and surrounded
BY all sorts of barbaric trinkets. At the
base of the mound he found another and n
larger crypt, containing the skeleton OF q
man, which measured more than seven
feet and a half in length, showing that in
life he was a giant, indeed. Vast quaint
| ties OF war-like implements and royal
gew-gaws were in and upon the crypt,
while around the skeletons neck was q
copper wire, on which was strung twenty
seven bone or ivory beads, nearly a half
inch in diameter. Arrow and spear
heads, knives, axes and other implements
of Jade and other stones were found in
great prOfuSiOn. All these relics, along
with the skeletons, were displayed in a
the base of the mound at the
foot of the shaft, and a spiral stairway ran
up around the shaft to the top, terminating
on the floor of a three-story frame house,
with broad verandas OH all sides for each
story, which Abelard TOmlinSCn built upon
the leveled summit. 1t cost twenty-five
cents to get into the chamber, view the
relics and ascend the stairway. In the
building above were refreshments Of all
kinds and every accommodation afforded
by au Old-time tavern or hotel. For
years it was a popular resort, and no
doubt yields Abelard considerable revenue.
The three-story house was torn away years
and years ago, and a dancing platform sub
stituted, where many a moonlight and day
light picnic was held. Eventually that
was abandoned, and many of the tim
bers thrown down the shalt. Cat
let's account of the excavation of
the shaft and tunnel would lead to the
conclusion that immense sacrifices anu
burnt offerings of human beings character
lied the building of the tumuluS. There
were found numerous strata OF pure wood
ash and charcoal At intervals, and then dirt,
ashes and fragments of bone intermingled,
while the whole mass was soft and soapy
to the touch, with scarcely a trace OF sindy
grit. There was ample evidence that
thousands of human beings had been inn
mOlated and cremated continuously IA the
work progressed, each sacrifice being Gov
cred with IA strata Of earth, 80 that per
hapS this immense tumulus contains the
literal ashes of ten, or maybe tiity-thOus-
and human beings. Fragments of vetebra,
ribs, elbow and knee.jOints, fingers, jaw
bones and what not, prOtruded from the
sides of the shaft from almost the top TO
the base. Among the singular things
found in the lower cript was a perfect
model of the mound in exact proportions,
formed from some sort of an ore that is IT
least 80 per cent. pure metal. IL is now
in the possession OF Mrs. McFadden. The
copper wire WAS of the modern pattern,
coarse and looked as though it had not
been made Il dozen years, the surface be-
ing smooth and unbroken. There are evil
denceS, too, that vast quantities of some
sort of grain were used in the burning
offerings, which is now n fine dust, re-
sembling pulverized parchcd corn or
wheat"
The Washington correspondent of the
Cincinnati Commercial telcgraphS his paper,
rs follows:
THE lover of nature who delights
sit on rocks. and muse DER iorI aud FELL
Should travel eastward by the Chesapeake
and Ohio, rs the writer did a few days
since. Some nf the wildcat aud grandest
scenery TO be found in the United States
lies between the mouths of the New and
G]reenbrier rivers in West Virginia. The
painless mountain side, embellished with
rough and rugged ellis, h~ectling cragS and
miniature cataracts, is only second in in
terest tn the surging, seething waters Of
the New river, rs they % sCurrying
through the narrow gOrges, stony shadows
and angular twistings of the streams be-
low. The New river, for some seventy-fve
or eighty miles, is nothing more than a
series OF rapids, Ornamented on either side
with PERCEPTIONS sleeps, and in its bed with
immense rocks and bOulderS, which puzzle
the behOlder with the inquiry of how they
ever got there-heautiful in their grandeur
and grand almost To sublimity."
The stockholders of the Cheat Mountain
S~portsmeu's dub, held a meeting at the
MonOngahela House, Pittsburg, Saturday
night, at which a rough draft of a COnsti-
tuition aud bylaws was made. William s.
Edwards, Of Charleston, was present, and
fully described the territory which has
been acquired by the club. The preserve
lies in the heart of the widest region in
the mountains of this State. 1t covers an
area of 60 miles and within its limits there
is not n settlement. Bear. dear, wild
turkey and other game abound, while the
cool mountain streams are filled with the
Speckled beauties that make the heart Of
the angler leap with JOY. The tract of land
embraces 80, 600 acres, and will be in
creased by an addition OF ~. 900 acres. II
is 80 miles from the railroad, but
Is reached by a good m~acadamized road.
None but the most intrepid hunters have
traversed its solitary wilds, while only the
merry mO0DShiner has resided within its
confines. The bear and deer have had
full swing, and the hardy hunters will
find great sport during the hunting season
in pcppering buckshot into the noble
game, while there are just enough rattle
snakes lettering on the hills TO add the
spice of danger to the fan. During the
year the preserves will be plentifully
stocked with English pheaSants imported
from the old country, and wild bears will
also he turned loose there. A commodious
club house will be erected this summer,
and experienced game keepers will be
placed in charge, whose duty it will he
not only to protect the property, but the
game, by Keeping an eye oil poachers.
John .. Harris, 4 citizen OF Webster